J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of both the J. P. Beaumont series and the Joanna Brady Series. She has written 40 novels and she has more than 10 million copies of her books in print. Visit her Web site: JAJance.com.

God Fish

We have goldfish in the ponds outside. They started out as the 25 cent PetsMart variety of goldfish, and they have grown remarkably. We’ve been told that once the weather turns cold we’re not supposed to feed them because when they go dormant they can’t digest food properly. So I’m torn. I feel mean not feeding them, but I don’t want to poison them, either. So I have fish food, but I’m resisting the urge to use it–on the outside fish, but the topic of the moment is our INSIDE fish–the one on the kitchen counter.

He came to live with us in the following manner. At the end of October, our daughter and grandson went to a fall festival at their church. One of the booths was handing out goldfish in ZIPLOC bags. Our daughter didn’t want to have your basic one hundred dollar “free” goldfish, so she told Colt, “No. You can’t have one!” and they went on their way.

But as they meandered around the church, they saw a plastic bag with a fish sitting on a bench near the door. An hour later, the same fish was still there, clearly abandoned by some other mother who didn’t want a free goldfish, either.

Colt has grown up with the family television set mostly on the Animal Planet. Animal rescues are a big part of his six-year-old experience. Accepting a free goldfish was one thing. Rescuing an abandoned goldfish was another.

And so the goldfish from church, the God fish, came home to our house. Because Colt is a Star Wars fanatic, the fish already had a name by the time they got here–Emperor Palpatine. The emperor’s first home was a glass flower vase we found in the laundry room. He now lives in a far larger bowl, one that used to hold a Costco supply of something like crackers or cookies. Colored beads have been added to the bottom. Water plants and an anchor have been added to give him something besides plain water to swim around in. We’re not all the way up to a hundred bucks, but we’re closing in on it.

Grandpa is the one who cleans the fishbowl, but I’m the one who feeds the Emperor first thing in the morning. I don’t know how much brainpower fish have, but I do notice that when I come into the kitchen, he’s usually hanging out on whichever side of the bowl is closest to the orange and white fish food container. And I don’t have to stand around saying, “Hey, come and get it.” The moment I put a pinch of fish food in the top of his bowl, the Emperor is THERE.

So I’ve come to enjoy watching him. And next summer, when the water outside is a lot warmer, I expect our inside fish will become one of our outside fish.